Program (machine)
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A program is a set of data or instructions that controls the behavior of a machine. Examples include:
Mechanisms
[edit | edit source]- The automatic flute player, which was invented in the 9th century by the Banū Mūsā brothers in Baghdad, is the first known example of a programmable machine. The work of the Banu Musa was influenced by their Hellenistic forebears, but it also makes significant improvements over Greek creation.[1] The pinned-barrel mechanism, which allowed for programmable variations in the rhythm and melody of the music, was the key contribution given by the Banu Musa.[2]
- In 1206, the Muslim inventor Ismail al-Jazari (in the Artuqid Sultnate) described a drum machine which may have been an example of a programmable automaton.[3]
- Barrels, punched cards, and music rolls encoding music to be played by player pianos, fairground organs, barrel organs, and music boxes.
- The sequence of punched cards used by a Jacquard loom to produce a given pattern within woven cloth. Invented in 1801, it used holes in punched cards to represent sewing loom arm movements in order to generate decorative patterns automatically.
Electronics
[edit | edit source]Some programmable equipment and appliances only allow their users to select predefined options and/or set predefined parameters. The user is not required or allowed to write a computer program (textual, visual, or otherwise).
- The "program" of a programmable thermostat consist of user-changeable parameters (mode, time, temperature) in the entries of a schedule.
- The "program" or patch of a programmable music synthesizer adjusts parameters and switches that interconnect modules.
- The "program" of many programmable integrated circuits is data that it permanently stores for retrieval (programmable ROM etc.), and/or govern operation (programmable logic device etc.).
Computers
[edit | edit source]- A computer program (software) is a list of instructions that can be executed by a computer.
When a programmable computer, programmable calculator, or programmable logic controller executes a program, its processor follows the instructions or commands that the program contains. Each instruction produces effects that alter the state of the machine according to its predefined meaning.
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Professor Noel Sharkey, A 13th Century Programmable Robot (Archive), University of Sheffield, 2007
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